Attempt #1 at creating a restaurant quality pizza at home:
So with my new pizza stone, I decided to first try to make a New York-style pizza with it, according to this video:
https://youchu.be/watch?v=OuwSQWwjDp0
It didn't turn out the way I expected, but it was much better than most homemade pizzas I've tried. The dough was just like ordinary, homemade pizza dough however because a family member insisted that they made the dough (they probably took pride in their own pizza and hated that I was trying to make something more "professional"). The dough I used didn't have high-gluten bread flour and instead used regular flour only. I also underestimated how much the dough was going to rise.
I think what truly changed the game was the cheese. Everyone assumes that since pizza is Italian, you are supposed to use Italian cheese, but it's actually a mix between Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano that you should use. You should also sprinkle a little bit of oregano on it. I think I overdid the oregano.
Best pizza I could compare it to is Sbarro's pizza because they also overuse oregano (at least from my experience). Sauce and cheese were fine, but the dough still gave it the "homemade" vibe. I expected the stone to make it crispy, but I guess it really needed that bread flour.
Maybe I should try a New Jersey-style bar pizza next time.
@icedquinn @xianc78 as long as it tastes good and doesn't make your stomach hurt, it's gucci.
@beardalaxy @icedquinn When I saw it cooking in the oven, it was looking like Sbarro's and I was expected to get sick from it, but it turned out fine.
What I really would like to do is to make a pizza that only uses organic ingredients while still tasting like something you get from a restaurant. That would be great because I'm trying to eat more organic lately, but I can never give up pizza no matter what.
it likely won't, because truly organic stuff looks weird and the flavors vary. part of the experience.that's one reason the one nurse guy made that lentil soup for years. comes out different every time, a little bit.
There's a lot that goes into making pizza. Congrats on your first step. Fermentation time and temp are something to experiment with after you get your ratios down. Also make sure you can pass the window test after kneading.
@thendrix Thanks for the tips. I've been trying to learn from this guy. He seems to be the master at cooking professional quality pizzas at home.
An overnight ferment in the icebox can add more flavor, but you have to wait for it to come back to room temp before working it. Also remember to seal it air tight, but with a valve or loose seal so it can vent as it will build up a lot of gas. :3
@xianc78 Honestly that looks like a great crust for a margarita pizza!
@LukeAlmighty Thanks, but I won't be satisfied until I make it look like this.
Attempt #2 at creating a restaurant quality pizza at home:
I made another New York style. This when turned moderately better then attempt one, but when transferring from the peel to the stone, it got stuck to the peel and I had to manually transfer it, which is why it resulted in this heart shape.
This time I used actual pizza flour, so it tasted a lot less soggy. But the dough still raised more than I expected. In fact it was rising BEFORE I stuck in it the oven because I was preheating the oven so high and for so long, the surrounding area was hot enough to cause the dough to rise. I also used a much better balance of mozzarella, parmesan, and romano, and it tasted much better than the previous attempt as a result.
It still wasn't exactly the way I wanted it. It seems like you really need that high-gluten bread flour which you need to order directly from a farm or ask a local pizza shop to sell a spear bag for you. I don't feel like doing either of those, but it seems like it's the only option. Maybe I can order a bag online somewhere.
Either way, it was a major improvement, but I plan to do better.